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Nigel Mansell
|birthplace = Upton-on-Severn, England, UK |death date = |placeofdeath = |nationality = |status = Retired |years = – , – |teams = , , , |firstrace = 1980 Austrian Grand Prix |firstwin = 1985 European Grand Prix |lastrace = 1995 Spanish Grand Prix |lastwin = 1994 Australian Grand Prix }} Nigel Ernest James Mansell (born August 8, 1953 in Baughton, Upton-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom) is a former Formula One racing driver from the United Kingdom. Mansell is the only person ever to have held a F1 and CART title simultaneously, as well as the only driver have driven solely for Team Lotus, Williams, Ferrari and McLaren, the four most successful teams in Formula One. Racing career F1 Career After a successful period in kart racing and a brief career as an aerospace engineer, Nigel won the British Formula Ford Championship in 1977. In 1979, Nigel and his wife, Rosanna sold their house to finance his move into Formula 3. Lotus: 1980–1984 Colin Chapman, his F3 manager, gave Nigel a path into F1 via his successful Lotus racing time, and in 1980 Nigel made his F1 debut in the Austrian GP driving for Lotus. It was a debut Nigel would not forget as his backside was badly burnt as a result of a fuel leak. However the pain soon disappeared as Colin Chapman gave him a contract to drive for the 1981 season at Lotus. Following Chapman's death in 1982, Peter Warr took over at Lotus but he and Nigel never got on well. In 1984 he finished in the top 10 in the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career. Williams: 1985–1988 In 1985, Frank Williams signed Mansell and throughout his Williams career Nigel proudly drove the famous "Red 5" Car. On 6th of October 1985, Nigel won his first F1 Grand Prix, the European GP at Brands Hatch. His maiden win came after 72 attempts in the cockpit of an F1 car. Nigel then won a second successive F1 GP at the South African GP in Kyalami. In the 1986 season he won five GPs and lost the World Championship when his tyre burst with only 19 laps left on the last GP of the season. Mansell finished runner up in the Championship to Alain Prost in his McLaren-TAG. Six more wins followed in 1987 including an emotional victory in the British GP at Silverstone and then in 1988 he only managed to finish two of the 14 GPs he appeared in. Ferrari: 1989–1990 In preparation for the 1989 season, Mansell became the last Ferrari driver to be personally selected by Enzo Ferrari before his death in August 1988, an honour Mansell described as "one of the greatest in my entire career". Enzo Ferrari presented a 1989 Ferrari F40 as a gift to Mansell. In Italy he became known as "il leone" ("the lion") by the tifosi (Ferrari fans) due to his fearless driving style. The season was one of change in the sport, with the banning of turbo engines by the FIA and the introduction of the electronic gearbox by Ferrari. Williams: 1991–1992 After two unsuccessful years at Ferrari Mansell rejoined Williams in 1991 and finished runner up to Ayrton Senna in the Drivers Championship. The 1992 following year Mansell won the opening five races and went on to clinch the world championship with a record number of wins in one season (9) and the highest number of pole positions (14). Mansell then fell out with Williams in 1993 and moved to the USA to drive for the Newman/Hass CART Team, whereupon he won the CART Championship. Return to Formula One: Williams: 1994 In 1994 Mansell made a comeback into F1. After the untimely death of Ayrton Senna at Imola he returned to Williams, replacing rookie David Coulthard. Mansell was paid approximately £900,000 per race, while Williams' lead driver Damon Hill was being paid £300,000 for the entire season. Mansell wasn't as quick as Damon Hill in race trim but signs that his speed were coming back were evident in Japan during a fantastic battle with the Ferrari of Jean Alesi. Mansell took his final Grand Prix victory, the Australian Grand Prix, which was the final race of the season having out-qualified the two contenders for the title, Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher, in the process. The plan was initially for Mansell to protect Hill from Schumacher, but both drivers passed him at the start and eventually collided, handing Schumacher his 1st World Title. Williams had an option on Mansell's services for 1995 which Mansell was sure they would take. However, Williams opted for youth over experience and hired Coulthard. McLaren: 1995 Nigel made yet another return to the sport, still hot property in F1. Since he'd lost the Williams seat to the young Scot David Coulthard, he joined the McLaren team, although Ron Dennis and Mansell never looked eye to eye. Dennis only had two options, first was Michael Schumacher, and second was Mansell. Since Schumacher was already taken, this left Mansell. His season did not start well, unable to fit in the car he did not start racing until Imola, where he was well off the pace of his team mate Mika Häkkinen. Mansell was frustrated by his cars' un-competitive handling characteristics and retired after two races. Personal life His career in Formula One spanned 15 seasons, with his final two full seasons of top-level racing being spent in the CART series. Mansell remains the second most successful British Formula One driver of all time in terms of race wins with 31 victories, and is seventh overall on the Formula One race winners list behind Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Alain Prost, Sebastian Vettel, Ayrton Senna and Fernando Alonso. He was rated in the top 10 Formula One drivers of all time by longtime Formula One commentator Murray Walker. In 2008, American sports television network ESPN ranked him 24th on their top drivers of all-time. He was also ranked #9 of the 50 greatest F1 drivers of all time by the Times Online on a list that also included such drivers as Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark. Mansell raced in the GP Masters series and signed a one-off race deal for the Scuderia Ecosse GT race team to drive their number 63 Ferrari F430 GT2 car at Silverstone on 6 May 2007. As of 2008, he is the most recent inductee to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame from a country other than the US, having been inducted in 2005. He is the current President of one of the UK's largest Youth Work Charities, UK Youth. Formula One Statistical Overview F1 Career Record Statistics Wins Career Results | | |||0|NC}} |11th| | | | | |7th| | | | | | | |8|14th}} | |7th|| | | | | | | |9th| |8th|7th| |7|14th}} |12th| | | | | | | | |8th| | |10|12th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |13|9th}} | | |7th| | | | | | | |11th| | | | |31|6th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |70 (72)|2nd}} | | | | | | | |14th| | | | | | | |61|2nd}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |12|9th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |38|4th}} | | | | | |18th| | |17th| | | | | | |37|5th}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |72|2nd}} | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |108|1st}} |- | | colspan=19| Did not compete ||||||| | | |13|9th}} ||||||||||||||0|NC}} Notes External links * Wikipedia article Category:Living people Category:1953 births Category:British Drivers Category:1980 Début Drivers Category:World Championship Winning Drivers Category:Team Lotus Drivers Category:Williams Drivers Category:Ferrari Drivers Category:McLaren Drivers Category:Nigel Mansell Category:Jordan Drivers